Custom single action sixguns by john taffin

GARY REEDER

Earlier I mentioned my three original 7-1/2” Ruger Bisley Models turned over to Ben forkin. A 7-1/2”.357 Magnum Bisley was sent off to Gary Reeder. Once again this one was totally tuned and tightened, the grip frame and accompanying stag stocks were slightly round-butted, and the entire sixgun was beautifully finished in a high polish bright blue with a few gold embellishments. To add to its versatility Gary added a second cylindered chambered in .356 GNR, a necked down .41 Magnum which allows .357 Maximum ballistics in a standard length cylinder. One of the most beautiful .44 Special sixguns I have ever seen is Gary's El Diablo. Starting with a Ruger Old Model as the basic platform Gary installs a new 4” barrel, round butts the grip frame, adds a bead front sight matched up with a V-notch rear sight, and then finishes the entire package in a high polish bright blue. It is definitely one devil of a good sixgun!

I am very fortunate to be married to Diamond Dot. She not only buys sixguns fo rme she also appreciates and shoots sixguns herself. Both of us, without the other's knowledge, commissioned special sixguns from Gary Reeder. I became the recipient of one of Gary’s first stainless steel #5 .44 Specials with a 5-1/2” octagon barrel, wide hammer, and of course, Gary's rendition of the #5 grip frame fitted with mastodon ivory grips. For her part Dot received a .45 Schofield Model turned into a Border Classic with a 3-1/2” barrel, round-butted grip frame also with mastodon ivory grips, and the entire package finished in high polish bright blue.

Dot says if she can't shoot good she can at least look good and this idea has resulted in a double pair of custom sixguns from Gary. Two of these are stainless steel 4-5/8” .357 Magnum Blackhawks tuned, polished, engraved, and fitted with scrimshawed stocks by Twyla Taylor. The second pair consists of stainless steel 5-1/2” .357 Vaqueros covered in cattle brand engraving and fitted with Eagle’s Buffalo horn grips. The latter two are matched up with a fully carved leather rig by Cedar Ridge Saddlery.

Gary Reeder’s .44 Special El Diablo is the devil of a good sixgun.

JIM STROH

The whole idea of a .44 Special built on a Colt Single Action-sized Ruger .357 Flat-Top or Old Model Blackhawk is not a sixgun for magnum velocities, but rather an easy packin' and shooting sixgun used to deliver 250 grain bullets at muzzle velocities from 900 to 1,100 feet per second. These older Three-Screw Blackhawks are also suitable for conversion to a .45 Colt for the use of standard loads in the 850-900 fps range. Ruger not only has never offered the .44 Special in any of their sixguns, when the .45 Colt Blackhawk arrived it was not on the original 1955 frame but rather on the 1956 larger frame used for the .44 Magnum. This resulted in a super strong .45 Colt but what about a Ruger Blackhawk sized the same as the Colt Single Action? Jim started with a Ruger .357 Old Model, a 7-1/2” .45 Colt New Frontier barrel, and a Colt ejector rod and ejector rod housing.

The original cylinder was re-chambered with proper sized .45 throats at .452”, the New Frontier barrel fitted, the action tuned and tightened, the barrel/cylinder gap set very tightly, a #5 base pin fitted, the grip frame polished brightly, and the balance of the gun finished in a high bright blue; add fancy walnut stocks by BluMagnum and the project is complete.

What about a heavy duty .45 Colt capable of handling loads coming very close to the .454 Casull? No problem for Jim Stroh. Starting with a Ruger Super Blackhawk New Model a heavier barrel was installed complete with an interchangeable front sight system, a new oversized five-shot cylinder was line-bored, fitted with tight chamber dimensions, and fitted with a bushing at both front and back to eliminate all endshake and also to prevent the cylinder ratchet from taking a beating from heavy recoiling loads. A free spinning pawl was added to allow the cylinder to rotate forwards or backwards when the loading gate is opened, and to make it more like a Colt a half cock notch was placed on the hammer and the New Model trigger was re-contoured and set back farther in the trigger guard. Add a Bisley Model grip frame and a matte blue finish and we have a heavy duty .45 capable of just about anything.

A pair of .45s by Jim Stroh. The top sixgun is a heavy duty five-shooter while the bottom .45 is built on an Old Model .357 Magnum Blackhawk for standard loads only.
6090) Jim Stroh’s .45 Colt shoots superbly.

In an article this size we can barely scratch the surface of what these sixgunsmiths offer. Many have websites showcasing their work and catalogs are also available. Hamilton Bowen also has the definitive work on custom sixguns with his book The Custom Revolver; it is full of dreams! I spent a long time dreaming of custom sixguns long before I ever experienced them. Dreams can become reality.

Remembering the one who started us all on the path to .44 Special conversions, Skeeter Skelton. Skeeter preferred a 5-1/2” Colt New Frontier .44 Special with ivory stocks such as this one by David Clements with carved ivories by Nutmeg Sports; the ivory-stocked Ruger .44 Special conversion is one of six Skeeter Skeleton Sixguns built up by Bill Grover.